Coaching Staff


Henry Bailhache-Webb

Head Coach


Now in his 25th year with the club and 15th year as head coach, Henry Bailhache-Webb has continued to take BROOKES|Rowing from strength to strength. After retiring from rowing in 2006, he joined the coaching staff at Brookes as the Freshers’ Coach, moving to Assistant Coach in 2007, and finally to Head Coach in 2009. Since taking the role, Brookes crews at Henley Royal Regatta have won 26 events, including the Grand, the Silver Goblets, the Stewards, the Visitors three times, the Prince of Wales, the Prince Albert four times, the Temple Cup 7 times in the last 10 years and the Ladies Plate six times.  His crews have been the holders of the Head of the River for 9 of the last 10 years.
Bailhache-Webb rowed for GB at Junior, U23 and at the Senior World Championships in 2005, following on from his Brookes student days that culminated in winning the Visitors Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2004. He has coached internationally with the British U23 team seven times – with 3 Bronze medals in the M8+, 2 Silver medals in the LM4- and Gold in the M2-.


Chris Tebb

Women’s Coach


Chris is now in his fourth year of coaching at BROOKES|Rowing and in 2024, led the women’s team to win the Remenham Challenge Cup for the first time since 2002 and become the first team to retain the Island Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. His first season as assistant coach in 2020 culminated in six Henley Royal Regatta wins, his second included the first ever clean sweep of Men’s Sweep rowing at Henley. In 2022, he coached the U23 GB team to two Bronze medals in the M8+ & M4- at the European Championships in Belgium. In 2023, he coached the GB U23 M4+ to Silver in Plovdiv. Chris rowed at Brookes for five years under Henry and Richard Spratley where he represented Great Britain at U23 World Championships in 2017. He was also a part of the crew that won Henley Royal Regatta the same year in the Temple Challenge Cup.
Chris is a former Undergraduate and Postgraduate student at Oxford Brookes University and is now enjoying the opportunity to help develop the next generation of aspiring rowers at BROOKES|Rowing.

Please Contact Via:

Recruitment Form



Sam Sheppard

Assistant Coach


Sam joined the BROOKES|Rowing coaching team in September 2023 straight off the back of rowing at Brookes. His first season coaching culminated in six Henley Royal Regatta wins including a clean sweep of all the student events as well as the Grand, the Remenham and the Stewards. Sam rowed with Brookes for four years under Henry, Chris and Richard where he won the Temple Challenge Cup in 2023.
Sam also completed his Undergraduate and Postgraduate studies at Oxford Brookes University in Sport and Exercise Science and International Business Management respectively. He is now loving inspiring the student athletes following in his footsteps at BROOKES|Rowing.

Please Contact Via:

Recruitment Form



Hugo Gulliver

Assistant Coach


Hugo Gulliver joined Brookes|Rowing in 2021, initially as Women’s Coach. Since then Gulliver has been instrumental in Oxford Brookes creating one of the best women’s rowing programs in the world, with multiple wins at Henley Royal Regatta, Henley Women’s Regatta, the British University Championships and wins at international regattas including Ratzburg, Duisburg, Ghent and the Holland Beker. Hugo now acts as an Assistant Coach supporting the further growth and development of the women’s team.
Prior to joining Oxford Brookes, Hugo Gulliver coached with the Great Britain U23 team (winning medals at multiple World & European Championships), at Harvard University with the Heavyweight Men and at the University of London as Chief Coach. Gulliver has a great understanding around advancing students’ experience whilst at university and helping all athletes reach their goals, from domestic regatta wins to gaining international selection.


Richard Spratley

Director of Rowing


Richard Spratley has been involved with BROOKES|Rowing for over 30 years – from becoming the Head Coach in 1991, and guiding the progression of Oxford Polytechnic Boat Club, to seeing rowers he developed go on to achieve Henley wins, GB U23 representation and Olympic medals.
Over the years, he has instilled a culture of encouragement and loyalty amongst the students at the club – many of whom are now international seniors – who still return to represent BROOKES|Rowing at major competitions. His protégés now extend throughout the country’s rowing clubs, and notably as High Performance coaches in their own right at major British Rowing programs. At Henley Royal Regatta 2021, the brand new first VIII shell was named the “Richard Spratley”.